The Sustainability Race: How F1, IndyCar and SailGP are Cleaning up Their Act

Clean fuel for clean racing

Global racing series like those above have been working towards making on-track action completely sustainable. The Formula 1 feeder series, Formula 2 and 3, have been using 100% sustainable racing fuel during all 2025 Grands Prix, with F1 preparing to join them from next year as part of Net Zero 2030. Particularly interesting is that F1 will be relying on “drop-in” sustainable fuels. These are fuels that can be used with already-existing power units without any sort of modifications to the engines. This also means that they have real-world applications, as road cars would likewise be able to use them.

Sustainable fuels have become commonplace in IndyCar and SailGP as well. IndyCar has been racing with Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel since 2023. And in doing so, they’ve cut down on greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 60% compared to traditional fuels. In fact, IndyCar was the very first North America-based racing series to rely on fully renewable fuel for its competitions. And while F50 catamaran boats are powered by wind, SailGP uses renewable fuel for its support boats, having held its first ever 100% clean-energy on-water event in Cádiz, Spain in June 2023.

‍

Powering the paddock

But the racing itself is, quite literally, the smallest of concerns when it comes to sustainability within these series. Emissions from F1 car power units account for less than 1% for the sport’s total carbon footprint. When it comes to race weekends, event operations like providing energy to paddock areas and team motorhomes, keeping fan spaces and broadcasting booths running and so on all have a much heftier environmental price. And finding solutions for this has been critical for all three of these sports to properly reduce their environmental impact.

In that respect, both F1 and SailGP have partnered with Aggreko, a provider of sustainable mobile energy supplies, to power their events. 2025 will see all F1 European races rely on Aggreko’s low-carbon energy systems, as the program has seen substantial expansion over the last two seasons. SailGP has also recently extended their contract with Aggreko through 2027, after seeing improvements in their carbon footprint through the partnership. Since teaming up with the energy supplier, SailGP has been able to reduce its carbon emissions from temporary power sources by an impressive 73%.

IndyCar has likewise taken several steps to reduce their on-site carbon footprint, with a goal of powering all of its events with 75% renewable energy by 2030. Towards that, this year they’ve initiated a recycling program for carbon fiber and magnesium-based materials, which will help reduce waste from damaged race vehicles. IndyCar has also worked with their Official Technology Partner, NTT DATA, to bring emissions-tracking software to their events. The software will help track greenhouse gas emissions from a variety of sources, presenting it in reports that can help guide more environmentally friendly decisions in the sport.

‍

Tackling the off-track transit

Yet while race events do contribute to carbon emissions, most of the damage actually happens off-track. Indeed, the biggest sources of emissions within any sort of global sport are the logistics and business travel between events. This includes everything from transportation of team and paddock equipment, travel to and from event locations, team and employee accommodations and so on. In fact, logistics and travel accounted for a massive 72.7% (186,513 tons CO₂ equivalents) of all F1 carbon emissions in 2019 and 78% (173,964 tons CO₂e) in 2022.

A major focus for global racing series has, therefore, been on reducing these sources of emissions. F1, for example, has been working with DHL as a Global Logistics Partner from 2023 to provide sustainable transport options for team equipment. What started as just 18 biofuel trucks has since more than doubled to a fleet of 37 for the 2025 season. These trucks rely on a hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)-based fuel as a diesel alternative and are being used to transport hundreds of tons of equipment across the European portion of the F1 racing calendar. This has led to an 83% reduction of logistics-related carbon emissions compared to other parts of the F1 season that rely on traditional fuels for equipment transport.

But F1 is not alone in these efforts, as both Sail GP and IndyCar have made similar moves to increase sustainable transportation between events. Sail GP has worked with the Kuehne+Nagel transportation company to bring HVO-dependent sustainable freight transport to their calendar from 2021 to 2024 and cut carbon emissions by up to 90%. Meanwhile, in May of this year, IndyCar announced the addition of Shell’s Starship 3.0, which uses renewable natural gas from organic waste, to their fleet of transporters. The Starship 3.0 will be used from the 2025 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix onwards. This is in addition to the standard fleet of transporters that the series uses, which rely on renewable diesel.

‍

Green teamwork makes the dream work

Having overarching sustainability initiatives and making changes to overall infrastructure is hugely important in reducing the carbon footprint of racing sports; however, the participating teams must also do their part. And indeed, many have their own initiatives. Within F1, Mercedes has one of the most thorough and public sustainability programs, with environmental, social and governance pillars that tie to specific Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations. On the IndyCar side of things, Chip Ganassi Racing has developed the One Team, One Planet platform, with goals to improve sustainability on-track, in day-to-day operations and in their supply chain. That said, neither F1 nor IndyCar track or report on contributions by individual teams to their sustainability initiatives, Net Zero 2030 and Racing Towards Zero.

And that’s where SailGP stands out.

Not only does SailGP track the sustainability efforts made by each of its teams, it does so in an incredibly creative way: the Impact League. This is an entirely separate championship from what goes on in the water, focused entirely on sustainability and inclusivity. Teams compete with each other across ten different categories, including their use of on-water fuel, recycling streams, means of team travel and more. The Impact League is the first of its kind in any kind of sport and is a means to actively encourage teams to make more environmentally conscious choices across a racing season.

What’s more, fans can keep up with how their favorite team is doing via the Impact League Leaderboard on the SailGP website. As of writing, Emirates GBR and team Canada are tied for first place, with 155 points each, while Mubadala Brazil is not far behind with a score of 147. The winners will receive a money donation to their charity of choice, with many teams partnering with local environmental- or sailing-focused groups. Through this, SailGP teams not only further reduce their own environmental impact, but also go beyond the sport to impact the world as a whole.

‍

Going, going, green!

All in all, it is impossible to ignore the fact that global racing series like F1, IndyCar and SailGP do have a substantial carbon footprint. That said, efforts are being made across all levels of these sports, from the events themselves to the logistics between races and beyond. While there is still a very long road ahead, sustainability has recently become a centerpiece in the way that these series approach their overall infrastructure. Whether it is through the development and use of renewable fuels, improving their means of transportation, or encouraging some friendly competition among teams, all three series are moving in the right direction towards a better, greener future.